Poor results at CaRT auction

THE latest auction by Canal & River Trust included the infamous floating office, Brunel moored at Paddington Basin in London that was created as an investment.

Altogether Brunel cost around £250,000 to convert, fully fitted for business use and moored at Paddington Basin, with no takers, until it was towed away in 2009 having sat empty and unused (and unlicensed) for several years.

White Elephant

This was considered another of former British Waterways London Director, Mark Benstead's failures, who was responsible for that white elephant of Prescott Lock that was built at £21.5 millions to transport supplies into the Olympics, but had just two barges in seven months. (The White Elephant.)

At the auction Brunel fetched just £26,000, whilst the 35ft narrowboat Bluebottle, complete with all furnishing did not fetch its reserve, reaching just £8,751, so was unsold.